Swansea City will be bidding to progress to the second round of the EFL Cup when they welcome League One outfit Northampton Town to Wales on Tuesday night.
The home side drew 1-1 with Birmingham City in their Championship opener on Saturday, while Northampton started their League One campaign with a 1-0 home loss to Stevenage.
Match preview
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Swansea started their 2023-24 Championship campaign with a 1-1 draw against Birmingham on Saturday; Siriki Dembele sent the Blues ahead in the 45th minute of the contest, before Jerry Yates came up with the leveller for the Welsh outfit in the 76th minute in Swansea.
Michael Duff's side will be back in league action away to West Bromwich Albion next weekend, but their immediate focus is on progressing to the second round of the EFL Cup.
The Swans won this competition in 2013, beating Bradford City 5-0 in the final, but it would be fair to say that it is not high on their list of priorities for the current season.
Swansea finished 10th in the Championship last season, three points off the playoffs, and they will be looking to push for a position in the top six once again.
The Welsh outfit have won three of their last four matches against Northampton, including a 3-1 success when the two teams met in the first round of the competition back in 2019.
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Northampton, meanwhile, will enter this match off the back of a 1-0 defeat to Stevenage in their League One opener on Saturday, with Carl Piergianni netting the winner late on.
Jon Brady's side secured promotion from League Two last season, finishing third in the division, picking up 83 points during an impressive campaign, and their main goal for this term is to avoid relegation.
Northampton will be back in league action away to Wigan Athletic on Saturday, and League One is undoubtedly their main focus for the current campaign.
Brady's team reached the second round of last season's EFL Cup, while they were eliminated in the first round of the FA Cup, failing to make an impression in either competition.
Town have managed to boost their squad with the arrivals of five new players this summer, with Emmanuel Monthe and Patrick Brough joining the club on free transfers, while Marc Leonard, Tyreece Simpson and Kieron Bowie have arrived on loan.
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Team News
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Swansea will be without the services of Steven Benda on Tuesday due to a long-term knee injury, but the Welsh outfit are otherwise in strong shape heading into this match.
Head coach Duff will make changes from the side that started against Birmingham, with Mykola Kukharevych in line to make his debut, having been an unused substitute on Saturday.
Yates made his debut against the Blues but is expected to be one of a number of players to drop out, with fellow new arrival Josh Ginnelly also potentially debuting against the League One outfit.
Northampton, meanwhile, have not reported any fresh injury concerns from their home defeat to Stevenage in League One on Saturday afternoon.
Head coach Brady will also shuffle his pack for this contest, with Louis Appere likely to come into the XI, having featured off the bench in the league last time out.
Aaron McGowan, Max Dyche, Kieran Bowie and William Hondermarck are also likely to be introduced into the starting side for the EFL Cup first-round contest.
Swansea City possible starting lineup:
Fisher; Key, Darling, Cabango, Naughton; Allen, Cullen, Abdulai; Ginnelly, Kukharevych, Piroe
Northampton Town possible starting lineup:
Dadge; Koiki, Dyche, Monthe, McGowan; Bowie, Hondermarck, Leonard, Brough; Hoskins, Appere
We say: Swansea City 1-0 Northampton Town
Swansea will not be at full strength for this match, but the same can also be said for Northampton, who will be more focused on League One matters. We are not expecting a classic on Tuesday evening but believe that Swansea will be able to navigate their way into the next round of the competition.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
